Elephant Car Wash

Don’t bring your vehicle here if you actually expect it to be cleaned well. In and out for nearly $ 35 and the vehicles not even clean. Give me a break, at least they refunded my money.

Brought my car in today and purchases gold wash. I could have done a better job myself. For $ 37 you would expect them to be somewhat thorough. Cup holders were never even vacuumed. Never going back.

Have been here several times and can’t really say I’ve ever enjoyed any of my visits. I’ve gotten very inconsistent service here, from pushy sales people trying to get extra tips, to having 5 staff members sitting in chairs smoking or on their phones (several of them looking, and making eye contact) while I was waiting to be helped.
The car wash overall is very dirty, and the automatic wash is ancient to say the least. The driers barely function, everything creaks and groans, and all of the touch brushes are so worn down and grimy they deposit just as much gunk as they take off.
Save yourself the money and headache with this place and make an extra trip to brown bear for a better quality wash, or your local gas station for something comparable and likely cheaper.

To say my car was overdue for a good scrubbing would be an understatement. Tree pollen loves it, bugs stick to it and birds unload on it. With layers of road grime in the rims plus (at least) two years’ worth of dirt and stains on the inside made for a sad little Honda. The fine people at Elephant Car Wash changed the mood of my ride in minimal time.
Even though this was my first visit and a holiday, they were kind and patient with me as I learned how far to pull up, when to enter the tunnel and what to do after the wash. They guided me well and offered me a soda while I waited. Impressive customer service and a clean machine!
$ 20 for a basic exterior/​interior cleaning. Tips appreciated.

I am so upset and have let this slide for about two or three weeks now but plan on coming back and talking to a manager. After getting a basic vacuum for five dollars my Toyota Tacoma is ruined on some level. I got back into the truck and it smelled immediately like smoked cigarettes. At first I thought it was just from the clothing of the individual who was helping me. I then noticed that she had left her half smoked cigarette that was stowed on my dashboard while she was cleaning the vehicle. At the same time she had remembered she had left it there and was on her way to retrieve it. It turns out the cigarette had rolled back and lodged in my windshield vent forcing it to be pried out causing bits and pieces of the smoke cigarette to fall into my vent. I am so upset now because my car is smelling like cigarettes on a regular basis every time I turn on the AC and it absolutely makes me sick. Cigarette smoke is bad enough but the smell of tobacco that’s been half smoked is even worse and completely nauseating. I tried calling multiple times today and got no answer. I am definitely going to follow up in person and demand that some form of compensation be given.

Been here 3 – 4 times so far. A full interior/​exterior + tip (I usually tip around $ 5) runs about $ 45, so a bit on the pricey side. But the service is good, they’re pretty quick, and they generally do a good job. Today, my wheels were GROSS when I came in. Almost perfectly spotless afterwards. Nice!

Wow! I really can not believe how slow theses guys are. I have never seen anything like it! My wheels are still very dirty.

So weird!!! I went there thinking it would be a quick drive through transaction. When I pulled in my car was literally bombarded by five people. I got so overwhelmed I reversed and left. What on earth is the deal with this place? Can a person just get a car wash without feeling like they are getting trampled by elephants (pun intended)?!!

Sometimes I wonder why I even come here. Is it laziness on my part? A lack of desire to go to brown bear? Or the quaint nostalgia for the pink elephant? The service is almost always sub par. I worry about getting a staph infection by sitting in their lobby. What’s worse, is the wait takes for-​ev-​errrrrr! Today I opted to get them to clean the inside only because the wait was long. $ 15 later and I’m wondering why I bothered. They did a shitty job. The outside I did down the street at costco. I think I’m done with the elephant. Save yourself and just invest in some cleaning supplies and wash your car yourself. This place sucks.

In the era where automated car washes reign superior, this place falls short in so many ways. Brown bear can do laps around this place. Sketchy, dirty, old. What more is there to say?

For 10 $ they cleaned the outside of my car.
It was filthy. By anyone’s standards… Gross even. The place seems rather disorganized. But the dude who gave it a hand dry was detail oriented and earned a good tip. Quick in and out. Don’t be scared by the gruff exterior

If I could give this place zero stars, I would. I paid $ 45 (service + tip that they didn’t deserve) to have my car detailed inside and out and I got my car back within ten minutes looking the exact same as I gave it to them! And to top it off, as I was inspecting my vehicle, one of the staff came out and said, «Im going to need you to move your car in case other customers come through.»
First of all, let your customers inspect their vehicle. Second, you’re lucky I didn’t cause a scene after you gave me an attitude. Third, your company didn’t do anything to make my car clean but wash down my mats with the water hose and maybe a wipe here and there on my dashboard. And finally… There weren’t any customers waiting in line!
Knowing me, I don’t like causing scenes in public so they will definitely get either an email or phone call tomorrow. I’m THAT upset so they better do something about it.

Won’t be returning to this car wash. I purchased the full service car wash with interior cleaning ($ 20). The wash did not clean the entire car and the individual that did the hand drying did not bother to wipe the spots that were missed. Dash of the car was still dusty and the door jams were not totally clean. The whole process took about 30 minutes. Unfortunately, I had to wait outside in the cold because the waiting room was too dirty to sit in.

I have used this place 3 times now. The second time I went I noticed they didn’t vacuum my trunk, so this time I asked and was told I had to leave the trunk open, so I did. However, I saw the car drive my car away from the vacuums without doing the trunk. When I asked him about it, he put the car back and did the vacuuming. I also had to remind him to wipe around the inside of the trunk.
Apart from that, the car came out generally clean and good looking, so I’m happy with the service.
I also have to give credit to Chas, the manager. I noticed after the car wash that two of my hub cabs were badly scratched and one of them appeared to have the silver surface removed in parts. I rang Chas and took the car in and he was very polite, showing me how there is nothing that can scratch the car in the wash. Also he showed me that the hub cab actually had splashes of gold paint on it. Since these weren’t on the tyre, it actually must have happened at the garage where I’d had it serviced before taking it to be cleaned.
So, yes the place is a bit of a dump, but the service is ok and the cars are cleaned well (even if you do have to remind them to clean the trunk!).

While the car wash was just okay — the facility, especially the «customer waiting room», is the dumpiest, trash heap I’ve ever seen. Profit is clearly the driving factor behind this business.

Great experience! Just chanced upon it and was pleasantly surprised. I got the Gold Package, includes an interior express detail. Completely worth the $ 33. I will be returning.

This place is not cheap but it is terrible. The actual facility is filthy, the drive-​through is caked in dirt with black muddy sponges. After we drove through, we had an attendant wipe the car down and we tipped him. When we got home we discovered that the car was still dirty and I had to wash it over myself. With so many choices, there is no reason to go here.

These guys make your car look awesome. It would take me two hours to get my car this clean. Note that if it’s the first sunny day in awhile it’ll be busy. Good work takes time. Also, don’t forget to tip.

This is an outfit I really want to like a LOT more than I do. Elephant Car Wash is a true Seattle institution, and has been around with it’s iconic ‘pink elephant’ signs forever. After my experience today, and seeing the large number of one– and two-​star reviews, I’m inclined to wonder why the heck they’re still in business; it is truly one of the Great Unsolved mysteries of Seattle.
THE ROSES: On my arrival at ECW, the machine attendant carefully measured the ground clearance of my car (I drive a fairly low sports car) to make sure the undercarriage wouldn’t hit the guide rails. I appreciate the level of attention. The other machine attendant did a good job of washing a lot of the nooks a crannies that car wash machines don’t get.
THE THORNS: After you go through the machine, you then pull into one of four bays on premises, where some rather scary-​looking guys (No joke! These dudes look like extras from «Sons of Anarchy», but hey, it gives them an alternative to holding signs at the freeway off-​ramps) go over your car and do a lot of the extra services that you pay for.
I hate to say it, but uniforms or at least company coveralls would help here. While I was waiting, an older lady in the waiting room asked me if the guys doing the wipedown on her car were employees there, or «volunteers» that she’d have to give an additional tip to (I think she was thinking of the ‘squeegee guys’ who prowl intersections in some large cities). I was tempted to say, ‘yep, looks like the local methadone clinic closed early today’, but that would’ve been mean.
Oh boy; if I’ve learned one thing, it’s to NOT give them their tip until after you’ve inspected their work. I tipped one of the guys, then went out to my car. Here’s what I found:
1) The rear rocker panels (lower fenders behind rear wheels) were filthy. The machine missed this area, and they just ignored it. I pointed it out, and they just said, ‘oh, wow’, and wiped it off with a dirty rag.
2) A merchandise receipt I had on the passenger seat was on the pavement next to my car. I needed that receipt to do some returns at the store. Note to ECW: when your guys are cleaning out a car, don’t take anything without checking. What may look like scrap paper to you just may have an important phone number or something!
3) The tires on the drivers side had the optional tire dressing I paid for, but on the passenger side they didn’t. I didn’t notice this ’till after I left.
Anyway, is this really worth a one-​star review? Well, yes, when you consider that this was a top-​of-​the-​line $ 38 ‘Platinum’ wash ($ 43 with tip). When you consider that I can get a reasonable wash for about $ 8 at Costco, and a better one for $ 13 at Brown Bear, I have to conclude that you just aren’t getting anywhere near your money’s worth here. At a lower price point, I would overlook a lot of this; I know that a thorough detailing would cost a lot more, but seriously, when you’re charging 3x as much as the Bear, and nearly 6x as much as Costco, you would expect better than this! One thing sure as hell, I know at Costco or Brown Bear, at least I’ll get tire dressing on all four of my tires!
Not worth it, and these guys will DEFINITELY not be worth the $ 15/​hour minimum wage that they’re considering for Seattle. Suggest you go elsewhere.

Okay Unilocalers, I get it now. I have officially had a two star experience at Elephant.
I used to think you were being too hard on this place, because all my experiences here have been fine.
I am not a big fan of Elephant, but egads am I enamored of a full service car wash, yes, oh yes! And in Seattle options are limited.
This time, I ended up with an interior cleaning only, because my radio antenna decided to malfunction, refused to go down, so I could not go through the main wash. I instead, spent $ 16 for an interior cleaning (its winter, and in Seattle, interior cleanings are the ticket!) and since the full basic wash & interior cleaning was $ 20,I assumed that things would be pretty spiffy inside when all was said and done.
Unfortunately, they washed my rubber mats in the most cursory way, leaving ick on them (and by ick, I mean a small milk spill left the prior week, when taking home the groceries.)
Okay, I get the irony as I started crying over spilt milk, but it was incredibly frustrating as I was told this was my fault (the guy there tried to convince me a couple of days old milk was akin to concrete on rubber mats.) Now having a kid, and having scrubbed a thing or two myself, and even having been to Brown Bear Car Wash and using their scrub brush and a power rinse myself with my own lazy hands to get similar ick off, I knew this was a pretty lame excuse. If you can’t get a milk spill off a rubber mat with a power washer, you probably weren’t trying very hard. Moreover, the odd, defensive and surly «pound sand» response from the manager was about as far away from customer service as a goal post from the 50 yard line.
All in all, chalk up another two star review. Ick and surliness have no place in a customer experience at a business whose bread and butter should be service.